Corset attachment



Jan. 20, '1925.

c. -rHoRP CORSET ATTACHMENT Filed April 14, '1922 Invenl'or 'wkrifwThorp y .f'ornyt Patented Jan. 20, 1925..

UNITED .STATES CATHERINE THORP, OF, TOWNSVILLE, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA.

CORSET ATTACHMENT.

Application mea April 14, 1922. serial No. 552,457.

To all whom it fnmy/ concern:

Be it known that I, CATHERINE Tironr, a subject of the King of GreatBritain and Ireland, residing at I-Iermit Park, Townsville, in the Stateof Queensland, Australia, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Corset Attachments; and I do hereby declare thefollowing` to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

This invention is a-pplicable to corsets and similar garments (allhereinafter referred to as corsets) containing bones7 or stiffeners ofmaterial such as whalebone, steel, Celluloid, wire coil. or so on,having plain or capped ends. The invention is useful for repairingcorsets after bones have broken through their coverings; and is alsoapplicable before repairs become necessary.

The corset fabric enclosing bones is generally delicate, but even whenstrong is often broken by the friction and outward pressure of boneends, which perforate the fabric, protrude in an unsightly manner,damage other clothing, produce pain, and/ or have other disadvantages.

These drawbacks have long existed, and bone caps have been introduced tocope with them; but although their thickness and blunt ends give capsvalue, they also-being stiff-break through the corset fabric in manycases. p

I provide bone protrusion limiting and controlling shields, not to beattached to bones, but to be attached to the corset, and so that bothshields and bones will be to a considerable extent movable independentlyof one another. My shields are to be made of various materials, eachshield adapted to straddle the corset edge near a bone end. When thereis lace on the edge of the corset each shield is to be attached over orunder the lace as found convenient. Thus my shields do not act likeextensions on bone ends which would produce discomfort, but leave thecorset where it carries bones, movablemwith considerablefreedomwrelatively to the corset where it carries shields.

Each shield is wider than the bone end to be protected, and thusprovides a pocket in which the bone end will be housed if it breaksthrough the corset fabric. My shields will cost little and are found bytest to light, efficacious, and comfortable.

They can be sewn on quickly and easily, and corsets repaired orprotected by them can be worn long after they would otherwise have beendiscarded.

In the drawings herewith, which are diagrammatic. several slightlymodified shapes of my shields are illustrated, and there may be othermodifications as to form and size, and minor details, while keepingwithin the scope of my claim.

In these drawings l is a front view of part of a corset upper part, somebone ends being shown protruding through fabric they have broken.

Figure 2 is afront view of part of a corset fitted with my shields, thebone end under one shield having broken through its fabric cover, itsprotruding part being enclosed by the shield.

In practice corset edges extend either substantially at right angles tothe length of the bones, or obliquely, or curve relatively thereto. Anedge in Figure 2, is, by way of example, shown oblique.

Figure 3 shows (but not to scale) in transverse section part of a cappedbone the end of which has not protruded through its fabric cover, butwhich is within the space protected by the lower part of my shield. Thisfigure shows the shield in one position it is capable or assuming rela`tively to the bone, the flexibility of the corset edge thus being madeevident. Figure'l shows a domed shield, in perspective.

Figures 5, 6, and 7 show end views of shields of which minor detailsvary.

My shields are at will attachable somewhat higher or lower than isillustrated.

In these drawings A and B show the front and rear respectively of thecorset body, containing bones, C, C1. C2. D indicates caps fixed on boneends, my inven tion being usable whether such caps are present or not. Eshows stitches by which pockets or channels are ordinarily formed in thecorset body to contain the bones. F is the corset body edging, sewn onat G; and H indicates edge lace sewn on at J.

Breaks in fabric A made by bone ends are marked K, C being bone endswhich protrude and are exposed to view. L represents a domed shield;shields M, N, and O have` no domes. Shields N and O are of sheetmaterial as aluminium, having a covering R which may be of textilematerial;

als

the covering of shield O is doubled or folded inwardly at T. Shield Mhas edges doubled or folded inwardly at S.

rIhese shields aremade from aluminium, other metal, celluloid,composition, vulcanite or other suitable material, which is usefulwhether stiff or flexible, and whether or not it is thickened at itsfolds and edges. Such material can be moulded or bent from sheets` and I`may Acover it with linen, silk, lace, or the'like, adapted to becemented or sewn on. To facilitate such cementing the sur-` face to becovered`r is, when desired, roughenedby Sandblasting.

VShieldsy L, M, have respective sides L1, Mparallel withthe bone sides,as shown in Figure 2;

Thef'straddlingr fold P of the shield is in some cases oblique to theshield sides in order' to be4 parallel, or approxiinatel'y paralleh'to'the `corset edge. The fold `of shield Ifi'sdomed, angular upper cornersbeing avoided, a shallow pocket IF' beingr formed adapted to: beAinitially empty' when the'shieldv is attached; or itv may receive corsetlace; or'belproyided"with cushioning"v material, as rubber, "which whenworn ont can be easily removed. y y

I provide, for sewing'each shield on" the corsetpholes U in the shieldsides, but the attach'nient could beby eyelets.

said pocket is formed ready forthep'rol" trusionofiav bone' end; andwhether'or not a bone end has broken through the corsetY fabric A y whenVthe shield is attached,.in;

each case theV Vshield base protects that Vfab- ,ricr andend ofthelbone.

y n U1V shows: stitches through vholes U,'locating` the shield When abone C, 01502, 'protrudesfrom' the fabric slightly under a shield, itwould in many cases, during subsequent wear, enter the shield further,and would in some cases vary in position longitudinally; but its end,which could at will be pushed back longitudinally by the wearer, wouldstill be protected within the shield.

I may provide a stop to limit bone end protrusion into the shield, asshield holes W connected by stitches Il", orI place cushioning materialin the shield` top, whereupon increase of protrusion of a bone end willbe arrested by the stitching 71 or the cushioning' material; If suchstitching were broken by the bone end, it could be easily replaced.

That I claim is rlhe combination with a corset having a sta;v pocketwith a stay therein and a top edging* extending beyond`tl1e end of thestay pocket, a U-shaped attachment body adapted to tit over theedging'with its side portions extending downwardly at opposite sides ofthe edging4 and in slightly overlapping relationA with' the upper end ofthe stay pocketK to' permit uninterrupted flexing of the said edging,securing means along the opposite edges of the attachment body fasteningthe same to the edgingr and to the corset in said position, saidsecurinfbr means being spaced' apart a greater distance than the widthof the stay pocket and thev closed upper endv of theattaclnnent bodybeing spaced fromv the upper" end of the sta-y pocket toperii'iitfreenormal working,r of the stay both laterally and' longitudinally, saidclosed upper end ofthe attachment body beingradapted to engagey andconfine the stay when the latter breaks through the end of therstaypocket.I Y

In `witness Vwhereof I have hereunto Set my hand'.

CATHERINE THORP.

